Other Worldly
by waterballoons155
Summary: After the defeat of Voldemort, everyone – including a certain Slytherin male – has come back to complete their seventh year. What happens when mysterious Serena winds up at the school, and just what, exactly, is she?
1. Freak

**Other-Worldly**

**Chapter 1 – Freak**

I could tell I was freaking the boy out, just as he could tell that someone was watching him. But as long as he remained ignorant to the creatures of the Black Lake, I was fine. He continued to write with his obnoxiously large quill as I sat and… freaked him out a little bit more.

He wasn't the one, though. I had been up on the surface of this blasted lake for two months now, and my fated life partner still hadn't revealed himself… not that I knew who he was. No, I was not interested in petty claims of love, more concerned with growing up before selling myself and my… forever-ness to my 'chosen one.'

So I continued scaring adolescent, hormonal and occasionally gorgeous boys of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry into never returning to the Black Lake to appease my power-hungry father, who, though hating humans, was still half of one himself, and wanted me to 'get hitched' as soon as possible. Joy.

On the third of October, I was summoned to the shore by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, my almost-not-quite father, who had known me since I was a squidling (not literally.) With a strong flick of my six-foot tail (to be explained), I was beached, in a metaphorical sense.

"Yes, Rube?" I asked, fluttering my lashes so as to get out of what I thought was a scolding for scaring a first-year last week.

"Listen, Serena, I know yer've been wantin' to get into Hogwarts, but have never wan'ed to ask fer it yerself, so I have a proposition." He replied in his deep voice.

"Why, Hagrid, I've never know you to utilise such large words."

"Shush, you. Do yer want ter hear it or not?"

"Be my guest."

"So, Mister Filch caught multiple seventh-year boys fightin' in the halls yesterday, an' I said I'd dish out the punishment. I thought maybe you could use yer duplicator trick to scare 'em when I manage to drag 'em out here in boats. No harm, of course, just a nice, brisk, dunk in the wa'er."

"Sounds fun. Is McGonagall aware of this punishment? Who are the boys?"

"Yes, _Professor _McGonagall knows, I went straight ter her with my master plan. The boys are Zabini, Nott, Malfoy, Potter, Weasley and Finnegan."

"Boys I have heard much about and yet have never seen. Excellent. I will do it. When is it?"

"Tonight at five-thir'y; they're missin' dinner as a part of their punishment."

"Will do, Hagrid. Just don't send them too far; Hettentia, despite being non-siren, will have a ball with them."

He nodded his large head, and then turned to walk away, his heavy boots crushing the shell-beach beneath them. And then I remembered something.

"Hagrid!" He stopped and whipped (surprisingly funny to watch a giant do) back around. "What are you claiming their punishment to be?"

"Oh, I'm not tellin' 'em what their punishment'll be!" His face broke into a huge smile, and then he walked (read: crashed) back through the trees.

Don't ask me how I knew the time, but at five-twenty that night, I surfaced again, pleased when I heard distant voices. They were already starting to break the peace with the sound of boats crashing against the water. Damn humans.

I counted, confused the hell out of myself, and then counted again. There were far more than I'd been told; around thirty – all males, may I remind you – were grudgingly climbing into boats with one other person. And now I could see Hagrid's plan. He was pairing up – from what I had heard – enemies. Potter with Malfoy and Weasley with Nott. Everyone, even sea creatures, knew about that childish war. Hagrid had obviously gone against his 'don't tell them shit' plan, and was now explaining that there were creatures (read: beautiful femme fatales, read: me) that they would have to work together as a team to destroy (hopefully relatively painlessly.)

Concentrating, I duplicated myself thirty times and had all the other carbon copies lurk in pairs underneath each boat as they kicked off the shoreline. I saved the Potter-Malfoy boat for myself and my most faithful servant, me.

I could tell after an hour that they were getting agitated, but all of them were too pussy to jump out, fearing the giant squid that they didn't know was actually making squid-love to his lady-squid. Cute!

I decided to appear, as the Potter-Malfoy (hereafter known as Palftoy – ha!) was right in the middle of the circle. As if the worst of the enemy pairings was going to do something remotely intelligent! So, I told all of my minions to stay put and popped up on the left of the boat, scaring the crap out of the blond god sitting in it. Right on. And then I began to sing.

I already knew what it would sound like to them: the most appealing things in their lives put into a voice, kind of like Amortentia. But I was singing to the 'alf' and the 'oy' part of Palftoy, to kind of make an example of him.

He began to lean closer, until I could feel his breath on my face. I put my hands on either side of his beautiful blond head and pulled – and no, I did not decapitate him. Instead, I kissed him, in order to keep him alive under the water. I watched my faithful clones take the others, and then directed us all to the shore, still lip-locking with every single guy on this detention.

As soon as the delinquents could stand, my copies vanished. I, however, rolled up onto the shore with Malfoy, broke the kiss-quickly-turning-snog, and started laughing. The dirty looks I received were camera-worthy. And then they began to take me in: the long, chocolate brown hair, the rather generous chestal-area covered by scales the exact same colour as my skin tone, which eventually graduated to a turquoise colour, and then to a dark blue at the tip of my long tail. They took in the perfect creamy complexion (modest, aren't I?) and the high cheekbones, along with the wide eyes that matched the tip of my tail perfectly. And their jaws dropped.

I pulled myself together and changed into my legs. I was now covered in a dress that had the same top coverage as my water-form, but finished mid-thigh with a dark blue band of my actual scales, which still made up the entire dress. My feet were bare, and my hair had 'miraculously' (read: not-so-miraculously) dried into loose curls.

"What are you?" One boy breathed.

"I, my dear mouth-breather, am your freak detention stunt," I replied in my close-to-Spanish accent, suppressing my smile when they all scowled. "Hey, it wasn't my idea." I held my hands up in defence.

"Still doesn't explain anything," another student – Ronald Weasley – chipped in.

I sighed heavily. "Look, let's just say I am a freak and a whore, given that I just kissed all of you at the same time. All will be explained or deflected _inside _the school, because after _that _performance, out here is not safe for humans, okay?"

Before waiting for any of the grunts and murmurs I knew would come, I turned and began on the stone path that would lead to _my _school. It was then that my sixth sense – the ability to know if I am being stared at, by whom and where – kicked in. Those boys may already hate me, but apparently _all _of them love my butt.


	2. Circus

Chapter 2 – Just Cart me off to a Circus

The walk up to Hogwarts was uncomfortable, because: A) I didn't have any underwear and B) there were several boys undressing me with their eyes walking _up _the steps _behind _me. I have never been so happy to see relatively flat ground in my entire sixteen years.

Professor McGonagall greeted me at the door, and then cast a knowing glance over the thirty almost-men that were still dripping wet from our little 'encounters' behind me. I would have laughed if she gave them another detention for tracking water through the school. But, being the generous quarter-breed that I am, I just used my powers to draw up every last drop of water from their clothes before turning to smile at my new Headmistress.

I sat before the Head in an uncomfortable gold chair for quite a while before she spoke.

"So," she began. "Professor Hagrid tells me that you are not all you appear."

"Certainly not, Professor. You see, I am a quarter breed know as an Elementass. Have you heard of them before?"

"Whispers, Miss…?"

"Oh, um…" I faltered for a minute – I had never had a second name. "Erm, Waters, Headmistress." I smirked, knowing the connection between my 'name' and my species.

"Miss Waters. But do explain what they – _you _– are."

"Well, Elementi are a combination of human wizards, Faeries, Veela and…" - I always winced when I said the last part – "Sirens. Generally the Siren and the human fornicate and give birth to a girl while the Faerie and Veela give birth to the boy. Both children then meet and produce Elementi –controllers of all the elements given their Faerie, Veela and Siren parts. Elementi are curious, in that there are only twelve at any one given time. If one of us dies, another is born usually within a year that has the same personality traits and name of its predecessor."

"So you control water, earth, fire and air?"

"Yes, and because of the species we got these powers from, we are immortal. I'd like to say I'm here to learn, which I am, but I think my father, who is very rare to have as an Elementass, assumes I am here to find my pre-fated mate."

"What do you mean; it is rare to have fathers when you are an Elementass?"

"Well, you know how I said that fathers are from Veela and Faeries and mothers are from Sirens and humans?" I waited for her nod of agreement before continuing. "Well, my family is the other way around. Normally, mothers die in childbirth given that Sirens, like Veela, only have extended lifetimes, not immortal, and humans have normal lifetimes. The fathers cast away or even try to kill the Elementass baby because the baby was stronger than the mother, and therefore killed it.

"My mother came from a Faerie and a Veela, or an immortal and an extended, and lived through my birth, but didn't live through my father's wrath when she told him that living underwater was killing him."

"So your mother… died, and your father…?"

"My father is currently living up the 'perfect royal family' deal in the Black Lake with my stepmother Hettentia and my half-sister Laenie. She is half Mermaid, a quarter Siren and a quarter human. She's a lovely person, but with a side of green-tinged skin." I pulled a face to emphasise my point. Laenie was actually considered pretty in the Mermaid world, and had even been betrothed by the age of ten, when I was twelve.

"Well, my dear," McGonagall began, before being rudely cut off by the door – or, rather, a knock on the door.

"Professor, come quickly. There is riotous behaviour in the Great Hall," a sickly man whom I presumed to be Filch gasped out. He had obviously run all the way from the rather… grand-sounding Great Hall.

McGonagall, in all her black-robed glory, speed-walked out of the room with her wand clutched in her hand. Dammit, that's what I forgot, among other things – a bloody wand.

I jumped from the chair and sped after her, my breath never coming short because I'm just awesome. No, it's an immortality thing. The doors to the Hall crashed open and the sight was one to behold. Students were attempting cannibalism (not literally) on top of the four massive oak tables in the greater level of the Great Hall. What I assumed to be the teacher's table, however, remained untouched. Speaking of teacher, where the hell are they? Why was the greatest Hogwarts acceptance speech in history interrupted by a riot?

McGonagall was trying her hardest to stop the madness, but was failing hilariously. I decided to take action: I stood on a table and began shooting fireballs from my palms into the enchanted ceiling area. That definitely got people's attention.

"You lot, shut the hell up!" I shouted, not caring to cover my minor profanity. "The _Headmistress _has been trying to get your attention for a while now, so listen." I jumped of the table with fluid grace and went back to stand with McGonagall, keeping my head stiff so no one would see one of my many tattoos. But, alas, I failed, just like McGonagall in a school riot.

"Are those… _tattoos_?" A high and feminine voice asked. I whirled, still trying to keep my hair covering my back, to face the speaker. She was short, maybe five-two, with a dark bob and a scrunched-up face. She wore the typical Hogwarts uniform that I had wanted to wear for a while now, with a green-hooded robe over the top. Her tie was also green, with silver-grey stripes.

"No, lovey, these are birthmarks. Literally," I replied, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice, as they were actually birthmarks of an Elementass. The scrunch-faced girl cocked her head, and I was reminded of a dog.

"Don't play me, fire freak. Tell the truth."

"Firstly, I am. Secondly, you better not have just threatened me. As far as your air-filled head is concerned, my 'tattoos' are the least of your worries if you try anything against me." She narrowed her eyes, and I took that as her 'I've got nothing to return with' plan B. So, I turned to the Headmistress.

"Professor, can you please explain what I am, because I am all worn out after the detention duty I performed earlier. Just basic details, please." I turned to leave, no longer worrying about my tattoos, which I had seventeen of.

"Miss Waters." She called after me. I spun back around and met her eyes. "You need to be sorted into a house." She expected me to know what that meant. She must have sensed my confusion, because then she went on to explain. "Sorting is where you are placed into one of the four houses – which are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Gryffindor – based on personality traits. Gryffindors are brave above all else, Slytherins are cunning, Ravenclaws are intelligent and Hufflepuffs are diligent and loyal."

"Is there a specific way to sort myself, or do I get to choose?" I asked, but by the smirks on some of the students' faces, this was not the process.

"There's a hat that looks through your brain to sort you."

"All parts of the brain? Because there are some places in my head that even a hat could lose itself in."

"Just the parts that define you."

"Right, so, all of my brain." I received a few chuckles in return. Yes, score one for Serena! McGonagall clicked her fingers and a hat sitting on a stool appeared.

"Miss Waters, perhaps the hat should deliberate at the other end of the Hall, so I can explain your existence to your schoolmates. Sorting Hat, don't announce her house until I have finished." McGonagall said, a stern tone creeping into her voice.

I nodded and picked up the stool, with the hat that looked strangely like a face, and walked to what must have been the teacher's end of the Hall. I sat and placed the mangy hat on my head. It immediately tightened and began speaking to my thoughts.

"Well, Serena, welcome to Hogwarts. Your brain, I must say, is a mess. Thought crossing each other, but I can see each house's traits within you. So where do I put you?" He (it?) said.

Out of the small cracks in my mostly-squinched-eyes, I saw the whole school turn to look at me, some students' faces bearing disgust, others undisguised interest and more still showing acceptance. I fully shut my eyes and waited for his choice to be announced…


	3. Rivals

**Chapter 3 – Childish Rivalries**

My uniform was itchy. The generic white shirt rubbed uncomfortably against the four verses – two on each shoulder blade – that represented each of the elements and went from tattoo/birthmark to gills at my will. Luckily, the twelve Spanish – the origin language of Sirens – words that ran down my spine and represented the personality of myself and each of my sisters were not as sensitive, or I would have been ready to kill my backpack by the end of the day. My verses read this:

Left shoulder blade-

_El Agua de los Océanos _(Water for the Oceans)

_De Air para la Vida _(Air for the Life)

Right shoulder blade-

_Incendio porel Calor _(Fire for the Warmth)

_Tierra para el Hombre _(Earth for the Man)

And the words down my spine said this:

_Liderazgo _(Leadership), and my sister bearing this title was called Lodema.

_Intimidante_ (Intimidate), which represented Maellea.

_Valiente_ (Courage), which was Thaddea.

_Perseverante_ (Persevering), and this summed up Allaena.

_Fuerza _(Strengthen), which was the gift of my closest sister, Gabriella.

_Ayudar _(Assist), which was me, Serena.

_Empatía_ (Empathize), which Sabina was the best at doing.

_Proteger _(Protect), and the protection of anything deserving was Alessa's job.

_Seguir _(Follow), which Krista claimed as her gift.

_Debilitar _(Weaken), which Larina did.

_Pacificar_ (Pacify), and Quella mastered this before her fifth birthday.

_Placido _(Placid), belonged to Kalua.

Of course, only the Spanish words were written on my back, in between the bumps of my spine. We also all had a tattoo on the inside of our left wrist, which read _Marise don ca Leito_, which was the Malis – language of the Elementi – translation for 'Sister of the Sea.' All the tattoos appeared within our first week of life, and we took on the same name and had the same personality as the Elementass we replaced. Do not ask me why we had two different languages on our bodies, because none of us knew.

I sat at my house table, surrounded by red (Gryffindor) crap because of the pending Quidditch game to be played in an hour. I, of course, thought that riding around on a stick and playing with flying balls (even sea creatures can do innuendos) was pointless. The Gryffindor table, when Ron Weasley arrived, had broken into a chorus of what sounded like '_Weasley is our king!_' Again, pointless. The team consisted of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, Lucinda Pracey, James Lukas, Mitchell Harvey and Kara Michaels, none of whom I personally knew. No, in the two weeks that I had been at the school, I hadn't made anything remotely close to a friend.

I knew where my 'chosen one' was though. He was at the school, but I didn't know _who _he was. I would catch remnants of scents from him every now and again, most of the time smelling of sweat, cologne and another scent that I recognised as sex. My future partner – hopefully – was _very _sexually active, which ruled out all the boys year five and under. Thank God. Compared to virginal me, this boy was like a freaking constantly-running sex movie.

I sighed loudly, and then sighed again when I realised I didn't have any friends to ask me what was wrong. So then I huffed. I collected my scarf, as it was mid-January, and left the hall to get a good seat for my first Quidditch match – Slytherin versus Gryffindor.

The game was well underway, and I had caught the scent of my love numerous times since the beginning of the match. The only players that flew down my end of the pitch were Slytherins hoping to score against 'our king' Weasley, and the Malfoy seeker. So that ruled out anyone not on the Slytherin Quidditch team. Score one to process of elimination.

The game ended after three gruelling hours of play with the first fair snitch-catch made by Draco Malfoy against Gryffindor in history, and on a score of 240-100. I feigned sadness, but secretly I was glad that my 'chosen one' had won the game, meaning that he might be easier to talk to when he was high on the pride of winning.

Both teams touched down, and Potter immediately lunged at Malfoy, shouting claims of a pulled robe. He swung his fists wildly, and one of them collided with Malfoy's jaw. In return, Malfoy broke Potter's nose with a sickening crunch.

Both boys were soon wrestling on the floor, and both teams were too stunned at their childish rivalry to break them up. McGonagall couldn't even get them to stop, short of using magic, and I knew from the look on her face that her morals prevented her from doing that. So I decided to step in. I jumped from the stands onto the ground, using my air-control to catch myself.

Then bands of water wrapped themselves around the bodies of the two players, tugging them apart sharply. Everyone looked around to find the culprit, and their eyes soon landed on me, with my hand raised in order to control the water.

"Honestly, you two have been through six years of schooling, the second opening of the Chamber of Secrets, the return of Voldemort and a Wizarding World War without killing each other! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I would think that even two people as childishly competitive as you two would be able to manage a Quidditch match!" I yelled at them, saving McGonagall from doing it herself.

They both scowled at each other, Draco from where he was attached firmly to a wooden post next to the pitch's public entrance, and Harry from where he was firmly planted to the ground about twenty feet away. Draco was sporting a split lip and a slowly-budding black eye, and Harry was bleeding profusely from his crooked nose. I was positioned between the two of them with my hands on my hips.

I huffed for the second time that morning, threw my hands up in the air in an impatient gesture, and shouted, "Apologise!" The grudgingly obliged, muttering apologies and then adding something along the lines of 'but you deserved it' under their breath. I rolled my eyes, nodded at McGonagall – who was in the middle of the twelve other players – then walked away. I felt all eyes on my back as I walked away. As a second thought, I waved my hand and smirked when both boys fell to the ground, released from their bonds.

As I passed Draco though, I could swear I could smell my mate. All. Over. Him.

Crap.


	4. Personal

_**A/N:**_** It has occurred to me that I have both been slacking off in the writing of this fanfic, and that I haven't cleared up the whole 'I do not own this book, just my characters.' So: **

**JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and his two side-kicks, Draco (sadly) and anyone else that features in the books or the movies. Ta da. **

**Chapter 4 – Getting to Know You**

The week after the Quidditch match, McGonagall announced that there was, in fact, going to be a Head Boy and a Head Girl. She then went on to say that there would be four in each house, as voted by their peers, two that were repeating seventh after last year's fiasco, and then two from the people going through seventh for their first time. So, we voted.

Guess who got a badge? Not me, but Draco. I was incredibly excited about this, because, given my lateness to the school, I was put into the then-empty Heads' quarters. So then I had to have a meeting with McGonagall.

"Miss Waters," she said when I opened her door. "Please, sit." I obeyed.

"Now, as you know, the Heads' quarters will soon become a home to sixteen other people, four from each house. I have spoken to the Heads, and they completely understand why you would need to stay there, and are willing to let you do so. I just need to enquire whether _you _wish to stay there."

"It's fine!" I blurted out too quickly. She gave me a strange look, and I decided, with a sigh, that I would tell her about Draco. "See, Draco is my mate. Living with him would be a good way to…" I paused, looking for the right words, "… get to know him."

"Well, you will not be living with just him, but I _can _see your reasoning." I nodded, and then stood up.

"Thank you, Professor." She jerked her head in a half-nod and half-go away gesture, and I left the office, completely satisfied.

"I have to share a room with _four _other girls! I'm a Head; I should have my own room!" Daphne Greengrass shrieked. "This," she growled, shaking her finger at me from where she was across the common room, "this is all _your _fault. If you didn't want to have access to Pansy's _boyfriend _where she can't get to him, things would be cosy." Draco paled at her statement.

"Hm, as… _tempting _as that sounds, I actually stayed here because if I get angry, I am closer to the water and won't try to set fire to _you_ instead!" I replied, my tone sharpening.

By this time, Daphne's shouting had attracted all the other Heads. I saw her eyes widen before narrowing back into slits – which did nothing for her sallow face – as I clicked my fingers and a ball of turquoise fire – same colour as my dress actually – appeared.

"Now," I started, turning the ball over in my hand, "This is how it's going to work. _I_ am going to stay here because having no on-demand access to water for long periods of time can kill me, and _you_ are going to shut your mouth and stay _out _of my way. Capiche?"

She hesitated, so I flicked my wrist and the ball of fire slowly zoomed towards her. She swallowed what I assumed was her tattered pride and nodded. The fire extinguished itself, and I turned on my heel. Just before I reached the door to my – and now Hermione's, Hannah's, Daphne's and Padma's, room – I whipped back around to face the still-dumbstruck Heads.

"By the way, Daph," she winced at her nickname. Good, I'll use it more often. "You may want to read up on Elementi, because if you had, you would have realised that you _never _provoke one, and you would have also known that we have two types of fire: faux, which is the colour of our tail and can cause no harm; and real, which is the colour of normal fire." I smirked when her jaw dropped, and then disappeared into my room.

The next day, tensions were running high in the common room, and people shifted uncomfortably whenever I went near. Given that we were forbidden from leaving the quarters in order to 'bond,' I lost it around lunchtime.

I slammed the knife down. "God dammit!" They all looked at me where I was in the kitchen making a sandwich. "Let's get one thing straight, shall we? Yesterday was just an act, okay, because when Elementi get mad, we really get mad. Like, _uncontrollably _mad. Just to warn you. I have wanted to come to a school above water since I was little, to have professors and schoolmates that didn't have gills. Now that I've got that, I wouldn't do _anything _to jeopardise that. So can you please all stop treating me like I've got a disease?"

The room immediately broke into easy chatter, and Harry came up to talk to me.

"Hey, I'm Harry." He said.

"Serena, but we've met. One of my clones made-out with you and then tried to drown you."

"I remember. Just don't tell Ginny that. She'd freak out if she knew what happened on that detention."

I nodded my compliance. "Sure. Speaking of girlfriends, who's Pansy?"

"She was that girls that bit into you about those tattoos on you back. She also believes that she and Draco are going to get married and have ten children named after flowers, like her, so I wouldn't pay her any mind."

"Shouldn't you be egging her on, or something? You and Draco aren't exactly friends."

"Sure, we have our differences, but I don't hate the guy _that_ much."

I laughed out loud. Harry and I were clicking. Not in a romantic way, but I could tell that if I was given the chance, I'd definitely be his friend. Ginny looked like she wanted to join us, but wasn't so sure. I sent her an encouraging smile, and she picked her way through the various black and white – given that there _were _four houses sharing one common room, and not even wizards could comply make all those colours work together – couches, and immediately joined in the conversation.

It was midnight on the first night of staying with all the other Heads and I had already taken to wandering the extensive quarters. There were no charms protecting the wings for boys and girls, only the rooms. I had just gotten a glass of juice from the kitchen and was finally ready to go to bed when I saw Draco sitting on a couch right in front of the fire. I set my juice down noiselessly and crept over to him until I was staring at his side profile. He still hadn't noticed me, as he was too mesmerised by the flames. He reached out to touch them, and then I decided to speak up.

"Trust me, it'll hurt." I said with a smirk. He jumped and retracted his hand.

"Fuck, you scared me." He breathed.

"Shit your pants?"

"Just about," he nodded, laughing.

"Sorry." I took a seat next to him and looked at the flames, too. We fell into an easy silence.

"So it's true then?" He asked, breaking the spell.

"What's true?"

"You can control all the elements."

I concentrated hard, and the result was amazing. See, Elementi have these glass balls that come to us at our will, and are solely used to create problems on a small scale, but then inflict them on places on a big scale to save energy. I used the current one in my hand to reflect all four elements. There was a quadrant of fire, a quadrant of water, a quadrant of swirling wind and a quadrant of plain earth. His eyes widened.

"Holy shit, that's cool!" He practically yelled.

"Shhhhh! You'll wake everyone up, idiot!" I stage whispered.

"Right, yeah." Unlike the last one, this silence was uncomfortable.

"So, what were you thinking about before?"

"Uh… um… n-nothing." I'm actually surprised he made it through the sentence.

"You can tell me. Being the freak I am, I can't afford to be judgemental, and I have faced a lot in my life. Shoot."

"I was thinking aboutthewar." He said the last part so fast it came out as one word.

"That's what I thought."

"Huh. Fancy that."

"So," I pressed. "What about the war?"

"How it's my fault."

"Draco, it's not your fault." That was the first time I called him by his first name.

"Yes it is. I helped take down Dumbledore, which lead to the attack on the school, which lead to the deaths of _so many _good people."

"Still not your fault. Who told you to kill Dumbledore?"

"Voldemort."

"Who launched the attack?"

"Voldemort."

"Who lead to the deaths of _so many _good people?"

"Voldemort."

"So whose fault is it?"

"Voldemort's fault."

"Good," I said, looking into his silver-grey eyes. "You're learning." He sighed heavily and his head dropped.

"Draco, Draco, look at me." I took his face in my hands and stared straight into his eyes. "I was there through all of it. I was in the shadows, watching everyone. Nothing is your fault."

He nodded.


	5. Plans

**I don't own anything in JK Rowling's fabulous book, only my own characters. Cheers.**

**P.S. Please comment!**

**Chapter 5 – Plans**

Over the next few weeks, I spent more and more time cooped up with Draco in the common room. Classes were easy, and I was diligent with my homework; overall, I was a pretty good student. One thing I had to do, however, was floo with Professor McGonagall to Ollivander's for a wand.

It was beautiful, my wand. It was made of Elementass ice and fire. The ice, which was unbreakable and would never melt, served as the actual wand, and the fire – which would never burn out – was the core. So, pretty much, my want was absolutely freaking awesome. Hermione and Ginny thought so, too.

I had made friends with _most _of the girls in the Heads' quarters. The only girls I didn't like were the two Slytherins: Daphne and Raquel, a snobby girl that transferred from Beauxbatons two years ago. They tended to keep to themselves, apart from once when Daphne convinced Raquel that if she helped here to break the charms on the quarters, she could invite friends in, too. That didn't turn out so well, mainly because McGonagall was patrolling at the time.

But, back to Draco and I (sigh). He and I hung out when I wasn't doing my homework and forcing him to do his. Sometimes I felt like I was _his _passing grade, too. But I had a plan to get him, so I didn't care how much of his homework I had to do. The plan went like this:

Spend time with him, and get to know him.

Let him know that I am available, but subtly.

Go out with him.

Get him to really like me.

Tell him I'm his fated partner.

Lose my virginity, and thus my immortality, to him.

Live happily ever after.

Of course, I only planned on succeeding in maybe the first four. Boy was I wrong.

I already knew a lot about Draco, though. How his father, whom he hated, was on the run in order to avoid being thrown into Azkaban. His mother was loving, and the only reason she did what she did was to keep her son alive. This information was revealed by the Ministry via Veritaserum. He also told me things about himself: he prefers being called Dray or Drake over Draco, he has a like for _muggle _music, his favourite colour isn't green, but a deep blue, exactly the shade of my eyes. He told me he didn't like Pansy, but she took his virginity in fourth year at the Yule Ball, so she tried her hardest to cling on. He then went on to say that he likes someone else, but won't tell me who she is. I hope it's me. He went into great detail the feeling he gets from playing Quidditch, which is the same feeling I get from using air manipulation. He said he loves to swim, and that the reason I caught him staring at the fire was because he likes Phoenixes.

One day, a Saturday four weeks into the term, I made a decision. I decided to give him the Elemental Ball I used the first time I spoke to him. As long as I was still alive and we were still mates, it would be filled with the elements. So I did. And he snuck me into the boys' dormitory to see what he'd done with it. He had literally carved a hole in the wall above the head of his bed, and my ball was sitting half-in and half-out of it.

I hugged him and said that it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done with something I did. He said it was beautiful and it deserved a place, just like me. I just about cried. But then I noticed… _the essay_. It was Slughorn's essay on Amortentia, and it was due on Monday. I sat him down and made him start working on it, and then went back into the common room. There, I was ambushed. The boys in Draco's year, Harry, Terry and Zacharias, had returned from Hogsmeade. I was good friends with all of them, sometimes more than the girls.

"Hey," Zach said. "Why does tosspot-" their nickname for Draco, who they still didn't get along with "-get one of those Elemental things?"

"Where are ours?" Terry chipped in. I couldn't weasel my way out of this one, so I decided to confide in possibly me second-closest friends at Hogwarts. I tugged them over to a corner of the common room, away from the boys' wing, and lowered my voice to a whisper.

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked. They all nodded.

"I can only give an in-use ball," I cringed at the innuendo before continuing, "to my mate."

"We're your mates, though, aren't we?" Harry whispered.

"No, like, my actual _mate_. My fated partner, my life's companion." I waited until realisation dawned on their faces before going on to say, "It's Draco."

"No shit, Sherlock." Terry said.

"You have to promise not to tell him." I pleaded. They gave nods of compliance and I pulled them all into a hug. We broke apart and I went back to playing with fire on the couch that Draco and I had first talked on.

It felt good to tell them, get it off my chest. I knew they would take it to the grave even if they didn't have to. I hoped they knew that if I didn't have to have a fated partner, they'd be close second, third and fourth on my date-list. After Draco, of course.

Draco was really hot. He had his blond hair falling softly around his face and flopping onto his forehead. His eyes were a middle-grey with silver and pale grey flecks through them, and his face, with alabaster skin, was masculine and angular. He was tall, 6" 4, with muscular arms and legs. I knew that, like all the boys, he was fit under his uniform from all the Quidditch. I had a feeling, however, that under his shirt, he wasn't just lightly toned. I had a feeling that he had a smouldering hot set of washboard abs.

It didn't take me long to find out, once I put my plan into action.


	6. Breakable

**I don't own anything in JK Rowling's fabulous book, only my own characters. Cheers.**

**P.S. Please comment!**

**Chapter 6 – Breakable**

"Hey, Serena," Draco nodded at me upon entering to common room. His hair was messed up, so I could tell he'd been… _canoodling _with Pansy. I felt a sharp pang of jealousy at this. What about me?

It was a Sunday, the day after I'd revealed to Harry, Terry and Zach that Draco was my mate.

"Hey, Drake," I replied.

"Hey, I was thinking of getting some fresh air down by the lake. Wanna come?" I tensed at the mention of the lake. As far as I knew, my evil father was still living it up under the sea with Hettentia and Laenie.

"Um… yeah… maybe… not really." I gradually made it down from yes to no. He pouted, pulling his puppy-dog eyes on me. I sighed.

"What I meant to say was: certainly Draco, let us go and thoroughly enjoy ourselves down on the magical shores of the black lake." I said. What can I say; I'm a sucker for puppies. His faced split into a bright smile. He practically skipped over to the white couch that I had dubbed as mine and pulled me up by my hands.

"Wait! I want to get changed out of this uniform first." I shouted before he could drag me out of the door. I stripped of all of my uniform, shoes and socks included, right in the middle of the commons. My scales dress was constantly on my body, unable to be removed. His eyes widened, seeing me in this dress for the second time since we'd met. It was a very revealing dress, as it had an open back to not irritate my tattoos.

"Come on, perv." I tugged on his arm and we left the quarters.

Down by the lake, we both laid down on the pebbled shore, soaking up the rare sunlight.

I heard laughing, and looked around to find the source.

_There. _In the middle of the lake, my father dearest was risen up on a tower of water. He had his trident – cheesy, I know – in his left hand.

I nudged Draco, telling him to leave and not look back. He stared at me with wide eyes before nodding and running up the hill towards the castle.

"Father. How… unpleasant to see you." I said, rising to my feet.

"You were always charming, weren't you Serena. I blame your mother." My jaw dropped as Hettentia rose up beside my father. She was still as ugly as always: long, silvery green tail, green-tinged skin and incredibly sharp cheekbones covered by a layer of fat **(A/N: I'm imagining her as Ursula from the Little Mermaid)**. She oozed evil. If she was kind, maybe her eyes wouldn't be blood red.

"Don't you dare say _anything _against my mother!" I spat back, my clenched fists catching fire.

"I've had quite enough of your insolence, Serena," my father boomed. "You are to treat myself and your loving-" _gag_ "-stepmother with the utmost respect."

"No."

"Well, Serena," Hettentia – no shit – _purred_. "Perhaps this will change your mind. Your sister, the perfect fruit of my womb-" _gag_ "-is getting married in two weeks tomorrow. She wishes you to be there."

As much as I wanted to go, I wouldn't be able to handle all the mermaids around that would try to attack me for running away from home. So, I shook my head firmly.

"Well then. Maybe I will be able to sway your decision." She snatched my father's trident from his hand and threw it with all her might. It sailed speedily through the air to embed itself in my left shoulder.

Sure, it hurt, but all I would have to do is touch water and it would heal. With my face scrunched in pain, I yanked out the trident. A collective gasp came from my left: Draco had managed to gather an audience of about fifty people. Students and teachers alike were staring at the blood-stained trident in my right hand. _Well, I may as well give them something to talk about_.

Stepping forward into the water, three things happened: My wound began to heal, the trident left my hand and landed in my father's, and I grew to be five times my size – I was now a 25-foot Elementass.

"Do. Not. Test. Me." I growled at Hettentia **(A/N: it is pronounced het-en-she-ya)**. Growth was a Faerie trait, so neither of them could do it. Another gasp was heard from the group of people, which was rapidly growing. Hettentia's face paled and she flung herself back underwater.

"Why must we always go through this, Serena?" Dearest dad asked tiredly.

"Hey, now. Do _not _pin this on me. She threw first."

"It was provoked!"

"She said shit about my mother, not that you would care."

"I do care, Serena. I do." He scrubbed a muscular hand over his tanned face. Yeah, my dad was, like, sixty and he was still a hottie.

"No you don't, you sick bastard!" He flinched at the name. "You fucking killed her! And then you went and married quite possibly the most repulsive freaking mermaid on this planet! You knew she treated me badly, you knew it!" He turned on his tail and dove into the water, much like Hettentia had.

"COWARD!" I shouted after him, before falling to my knees on the sand. Hermione was the first to soothe my sobbing, as one of the boys carried me to the castle. I think it was Harry. I cried into his chest the whole way up, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps. Draco held my hand the entire time as I sobbed away the pain I felt at losing my mother.

The next morning I emerged from my bed after a restless night. My hair looked like crap, my eyes looked like crap, and I looked like crap.

In the night, I'd decided that I was going to use the almost-broken link between my father and I.

_Dad? Can you hear me?_

I received a moan in response.

_Dad? Are you okay?_

**No… **

His reply came in the form of – wait for it – a moan.

_What's wrong?_

**Het… ten… tia**

_Huh?_

**Hettent… tia… attacked me…**

Shit. My dad was dying at the hands of my evil stepmother.


	7. Lost

**Chapter 7 – Loss and Home**

The funeral was held on a Wednesday. Hettentia and my father fought about my 'insolence' when they returned to the palace. She got very angry when father told her that she should stop bothering me about my mother.

He was stabbed with a pearl knife while he slept. Pearl is the one material that can kill an immortal that exists majorly in the water. Bitch.

Then I thought about something: families and friends only ever come together when something worth putting up with each-other happens. My father's funeral was held on the line where the Forbidden Forest meets the pebbled shores of the Black Lake. Many people came: friends of my mother, acquaintances of my father, Hettentia's sister. I wanted to tell them all to piss off.

They offered condolences, threw white roses into the Everagua – water that remains shaped and existent until destroyed – tomb, comforted each other. My half-sister came, sporting the new title of 'Queen Laenielle Belethema of the Mermaidian Realms.' I was next in line, but I refused to return to the water; not now, not ever.

I thought it insensitive of the attendees of the funeral to come. I didn't invite anyone apart from my friends from the Heads' dorms. Everyone else came of their own accord: women that I hadn't seen since mother died, men that were 'friends' of my father but hadn't spoken to him in ten years. Why, though?

Was it because they felt pity for poor orphaned Serena, or because they wanted the pride of saying they went to the Mermaid King's burial? Did they hope that someone might commend their efforts and share with them some of the rumoured 'King's Fortune'? I just wanted to grieve my father in peace, but I was like them: I hadn't truly spoken to him in years, but I decided to attend his funeral. I had the right to do that, as his daughter. _He_ should have left me and my sister alone.

_I'm._

He didn't know the hell we could cause.

_Coming._

The damage we could inflict upon someone.

_For._

The pain that comes with death.

_You._

He had the nerve to make a joke of the situation. In his speech, he was the 'best friend of the former King', but I knew for a fact that they hadn't so much as thought about talking to each other in years. He then went on to say 'wives, huh? They all have one thing in common: when they get angry, they get extreme.' Draco knew to hold me back at that point.

"Please Serena. Stop," I struggled against Draco's hold as we watched the attendees of the funeral and _him _leave the grounds.

"No. He deserves what he'll get. He made a joke of it! A _joke_!" I yelled and tried to get from his tight hold on my upper arms. Harry came and stood in front of me.

"Serena. He may make sad things into humour in order to deal with the grief." He said in a soothing tone.

"No, he doesn't! He hasn't spoken to my father in six years at least! He said it because my father killed my mother, and then lost his own life to my stepmother. He was making fun of our tempers as elemental beings." They all gasped when they heard the 'father killed mother' part. But they knew better, and any traces of pity flew from their expressions.

"Serena…" Draco breathed.

"Don't, Draco. I was very young. I don't need anyone's pity. My parents are dead, and I'm an orphan. But I'll be okay. What I need, right now, are friends. We got off on a rough start, but that has to change. I loved my parents, both of them, but they are gone and there's nothing I can do to change that. I need to accept it and then keep going with my life."

They all nodded and pulled me into a group hug. For once in my short life, I felt home.

_There is an arm on top of me._

My eyes were swollen from the tears I shed the previous night: the night following the funeral. I remembered bursting into tears at the home revelation, but I couldn't tell anyone what was wrong. I think I fell asleep soon after my tear session.

I rolled over in the foreign bed and my heart leaped at the sight I found.

_Draco Malfoy._

_Shirtless._

_With an arm wrapped around my waist._

I ran my fingers up his chiselled abdomen – complete with six-pack – and he involuntarily shivered. I ran the tips of my fingers down his arms, across his chest. I didn't notice that he had woken up.

When I reached his jugular, his hand grabbed mine and I met his eyes. He drew in a shaky breath, obviously trying to distract himself from the bulge in his pants.

"Stop." He said in a commanding tone.

I felt my lip quiver at his order, and nodded. I looked down, my hand still not free from his grasp.

"Look at me, Serena." I did. His grey eyes were intensely burning with… lust? Without thinking about it, I leaned in and took his lips with my own. He took but a millisecond to respond.

Fireworks erupted in my belly, and a shockwave of tingles ran down my spine. All too soon, he pulled away from me, running a shaky hand through his hair.

"I-I have to go." He said quickly, jumping out of what I recognised as his bed and pulling on clothes. I sighed and flopped back down on the pillows as soon as the door closed behind him.

_How the fuck did I get into the boys' dorms? Aren't there charms?_

I was overcome with tiredness suddenly, and rolled onto my stomach, so as to not annoy my exposed tattoos. I yawned and buried my still-red face in the pillows.

_How could he leave like that? Wouldn't he have felt that spark too?_

The thoughts plagued my mind as I begged for sleep. I gave up and decided to return to the girls' dorms.

When I reached the commons, I found that it was still dark. Where were the boys, then? Had they all been banished to the girls' dorms?

I decided to take advantage of the privacy, and trekked back to Draco's bed.

Sleep found me as I stared at the Elemental Ball, wondering why suddenly, the fire had turned to black flames.


	8. Torn

**Chapter 8 – Torn**

I woke up to a sharp poke in the ribs. Shooting upright, my forehead connected with another's.

"Shit, Serena!" Harry yelled, rubbing his hand over his faded scar.

"Sorry, but you should _not _have tried to wake me up." I replied, flipping him off.

"Well, it is eight in the morning on a school day."

I gasped, "eight in the freaking morning! I went to bed at, like, six o'clock last night. How could I have slept for four_teen _hours?"

"Dunno."

"Hey, where were you guys last night?" I asked, just noticing that Terry and Zach were sitting on the bed to the right of Draco's: I think it was Terry's.

"We all crashed on the floor in the older girls' dorm. Draco said that you were not to be disturbed." Terry said.

"Yeah, we all thought you two would be, like, going at it like jack rabbits." Zach added.

"Ew! Nice, guys. Real classy." I said, scrunching up my nose.

"Hey, we're your friends, so we tell it like it is." Harry shrugged.

"Anyway, we should probably head to breakfast." Zach cut in, raising his arms above his head in a stretching motion.

I rolled out of Draco's warm bed and jumped to my feet. I was still wearing my strapless dress from the funeral. It was black, with a sweetheart neckline. The fabric was a silky creation, and would have been loose and flowy if it was not cinched in at the waist, with a bow at the front. The dress fell to my knee area, and the bubble-type skirt was drawn up at random places around the hem (.). It was crinkled from being slept on all night.

My patent-leather platform pumps were by the bedpost on my side of the bed. I grabbed them and left the boys' room without another word.

Breakfast was eventful and quite painful. I sat silently, picking at my fruit salad with my eyes fixated on the couple on the table next to mine: Draco and *gag* Pansy.

Honestly, you would think that the survival of mankind depended on them going as far as they could without actually _fornicating _right there at the Slytherin Table. I was actually surprised that they weren't stopped by any of the Professors. Actually, I think all of the _students _in that Hall had more decency and dignity than that couple at the moment.

I felt like vomiting into Harry's book bag. I almost did, but I swallowed back the bile and instead focused on putting a single pip from my passionfruit onto each piece of fruit in my bowl. I got through, say, twenty, before my eyes joined Harry's and Hermione's in death-staring Draco.

Harry, much to my dismay, had let slip to Hermione that I was Draco's mate, and naturally she had told her short-tempered boyfriend, Ron Weasley, when he found out that she was hiding something from her and got angry.

When Hermione told me the story, she had said that Ron thought she was pregnant. Suffice to say, the only thing that sunk in during that conversation was that Ron and Hermione had actually had _sex_.

"Rena… _Rena_… RENA!" I jumped at the volume of Harry's voice. Tearing my eyes away from the 'happy couple,' I faced Harry.

"What?" I asked dumbly.

"I wanted to know if you could come to Hogsmeade with Hermione, Ron, Ginny and I this Saturday."

"Oh, um…" I thought about it for a second, "sure."

"Great!" He replied, before turning in his seat to begin an animated conversation with Ron about the Chudley Cannons.

Is that all the conversation he's going to have with me? Seriously? I sighed and went back to my pips, which were beginning to slide dangerously towards the ocean of pineapple juice sitting in the bottom of my bowl.

I spooned a piece of orange into my mouth and smiled at the taste: a sweet sugary taste when bitten-into, but then finishing on a citrus-y note that made me scrunch up my face.

I had only just gotten used to regular human food, previously living on a diet of fish and other under-the-sea things. Now that I thought about it, that was kind of feral.

I checked over my schedule:

_Breakfast_

_Lesson 1 - Transfiguration_

_Lesson 2 - Defence Against the Dark Arts_

_Lesson 3 - Charms_

_Lunch_

_Lesson 4 - Potions_

_Lesson 5 - Ancient Runes_

_Lesson 6 - Care of Magical Creatures_

_Free Study_

_Dinner_

I remember berating myself for not having memorised my schedule in the time that I had been there.

"How could you do this to me?" A voice I recognised as Pansy's shrieked. I looked up and saw that Draco had his arms up in an 'I surrender' pose, and Pansy was on her feet, tears streaming down her face.

"Uh… Relax, baby. It was just a joke." Draco said in a soothing tone.

"It was a really sick joke, Draco!" Daphne yelled, catching the attention of the people in the Hall that hadn't noticed Pansy's outburst. She took a still-sobbing Pansy by the arm and lead her out of the Hall. Everyone returned to their breakfast.

A minute later, someone tapped my shoulder. It was Draco.

"Serena…" He began. "We need to talk."

"I agree. That kiss was-"

"-a mistake." Draco cut in. I wiped all disappointment from my face. I was going to say magical. "I have a girlfriend, and she loves me. Right now, that's all I want. Maybe in a little while…"

"No, Draco. I have been talking to you, being your confidante, listening to you _bitch _about your girlfriend, and only thinking that if I were your girlfriend, you would love me beck because I would be perfect. I cannot wait for you anymore; I know more things about you than your own mother. We are perfect for each other, and it is hard for me to put myself out there like this, but we are meant to be together. I know it. But I can't wait for it any longer." I grabbed my backpack and left the Hall at a record-setting walk.

The day had been tiring, to say the least. I was tired not because of lack of sleep: I was tired of all these people I had never met were coming up to me and offering condolences. I was tired of Draco never offering me a chance, tired of waiting for and thinking about it.

I was over all of it.

As I sluggishly wandered through the halls to dinner, I pondered the black flames instead of my usual: Draco. I hadn't noticed the ball this morning, as my collision with Harry had cleared all tangible thoughts from my head. Were they still black?

I couldn't very well sneak into the boys' room again, because they would know something was wrong.

I finally came to a conclusion when I found myself on the shore of the Black Lake.

I was going to summon my sisters.


	9. Family

**Chapter 9 – We Are Family**

They stood in front of me: ten of my eleven ethereal sisters. They formed a line with Lodema at the head, followed by Thaddea, Allaena, Gabriella, Sabina, Alessa, Krista, Larina, Quella and Kalua. Maellea **(A/N: pronounced may-lee-uh) **had left us during the Battle of Hogwarts, claiming we were stupid for watching over the humans.

"Sister," Lodema began. "Why have you summoned us?"

"I am sorry for inconvenience, sisters, but I have things to ask and things to tell." I replied.

"Go on."

"I have found my mate, here at Hogwarts, but he is with another. I gave him a full Elemental Ball, but I saw it yesterday evening, after my father's funeral, and the flames have turned black."

"Show us." Thaddea commanded. I complied and shot a ball of faux fire and a ball of real fire out of my fingertips. They swirled around all of us. Both fires were black.

"I know what this is. You are corrupted: filled with hate, sorrow and loss." Lodema explained. "Show me your scale dress."

I took off my uniform and gasped when I saw that what was once a dark blue strip was turning black. That would mean that my eyes were black, too.

"What can I do to stop it?" I asked.

"Well," Kalua said. "You have to rid your body of hate and loss. You have lost your mate, yes? You need to get him back or you will become fully corrupt and attack innocence, or you will die. It depends on how strong the emotions are within you."

Tears began to stream down my face. I needed to talk to Draco.

"That is not possible!" Draco screamed at me.

"Yes it is, Draco! It's happening now!" I yelled back, my fingers curling into fists. After my chat with my sisters, I had stormed up to the castle to find Draco, found him being dry-humped by Pansy in a deserted hallway (people could probably hear the sloppy kissing noises) and dragged him away by his collar.

And that's when I told him that he was my _chosen_. And then the yelling started.

"No! I am in love with Pansy!" His eyes went all cloudy at her name, and I had paid enough attention in Potions to know what was going on. I pulled him along to Professor Slughorn's office.

I knocked three times, waited for the reply, and pushed Draco in before shuffling in myself.

"Professor," I gasped, exhausted from dragging Draco twice in ten minutes. "Draco's taken a love potion, I'm sure of it."

He looked up, alarmed, from his paperwork.

"Whaaaaat?" He asked, his voice rising at the end.

"Draco has taken a love potion. But it is very weak." I said, resisting the urge to shout.

"Well then. I shall prepare an antidote." He got up from his upholstered gold chair and shuffled to his medical box of potions supplies.

The clinking of glasses and the smell of cinnamon – yes, even wizards use it – soon filled the stale air of the office.

"Drink." I almost grunted, thrusting the intricately carved glass into Draco's clammy hands.

He chugged it all down and what little colour he had in his face before returned.

"Draco," I sighed. "We need to talk."

"I'm sorry, Serena." Draco said, looking down to his lap.

"It's okay. You were under a potion." I replied, shifting uncomfortably. We both sat in a broom closet on the fourth floor. Our knees were touching, sending constant tingles down my spine.

I wasn't going to tell him about the black. Lodema had also told me that the chances were I wouldn't survive the corruption. I didn't want him to be with me only because I was dying.

"Cool." He nodded. We fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"Well," I said, slapping my hands down on my thighs. "I'm off to bed."

I pushed open the door to the cupboard, trying not to inhale the dust that came with it, and began to walk down the hall. My bare feet made slapping noises on the cold stone floors, and my left-hand fingers ran themselves over the sandstone walls.

I stopped to stare at the moon when I reached a large window. My mother had died on a night just like that one. She had confronted father about her fire-side taking over, and not being able to stand such a pain as living underwater. He got into a rage, as per usual, and became violent. One of his blows was obviously too much for her to handle.

He had always told me that she had begged for death over being forced to live on land without her family. That was when I knew my father wasn't the hero I claimed him to be, as every child does.

Because I had watched. I had nightmares that had eventually evolved into me waking up. I made my way to the throne room, a two-year-old girl in a ten-year-old's skin. And I watched him beat her, and I knew he knew I was there. But he didn't stop. And then he lied to me about it.

So I became rebellious. First it was little things: stealing his crown, writing obscenities on the palace walls. But then he became controlling.

So I ran away to the school. And there I was then, still staring out the window, even as I heard footsteps down the hall.

Cold fingers closed around my forearm. I couldn't help the shudder they created. _Okay, definitely _not _Filch. _

I turned to come face-to-face with Draco. I immediately pulled my wrist from his grasp and stepped back.

Hurt flashed across his chiselled, gorgeous, strong, per- _STOP! _Features.

"Serena. Would you…" He ran a shaky hand through his hair and drew in a ragged breath before starting again. "Would you like to come out… sometime w-with me?" He finished in a rush.

"Why, Draco, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you were nervous." He offered me a lopsided grimace when I mock-punched him in the shoulder.

"So, like a date?" I asked.

"Y-yeah?" His answer came as a stammered question.

"Sure!" I took a step closer to him and stood in tiptoes to reach his ear.

"Just so you know, it'll be my first ever date, so it better be special." I whispered. I could tell his eyes widened before he gulped and stiffly nodded.

I kissed him on the cheek, ignoring the butterflies that started, and skipped away, leaving him standing there shocked.

_Ah, this might be easier than I thought. _Stupid and naïve I was.

**Hey guys, kinda need reviews and ideas, 'cos I have assignments that require all my brain, and thus didn't have the time or energy for writing as much. JUST REMEMBER THAT REVIEWS KEEP ME GOING!**


	10. Ugh

Chapter 10 – Insert Eye-Roll Here

The date was set, the dress chosen and the location planned. No, I am _not _getting married. Sadly.

My date with McMatey was going to take place during the trip to Hogsmeade, I was wearing a turquoise and white summer dress, and said trip to Hogsmeade was on Saturday. So the girls – Ginny, Hermione, Hannah, Padma and even Daphne – and I were chilling out with a stack of _Witch Weekly _magazines. At about eleven – because the next day (Friday) was a recuperation day – our conversation broke into generally unchartered waters.

Sex.

Snogging.

Love.

Subjects which I knew nothing about. But Hermione and Ginny made up for my lack of experience. I discovered that Hermione had already had a small pregnancy scare, and Ginny was on the pill, despite the many spells that served as contraception. Ginny reasoned that if her mum found the pills, she wouldn't know what they were. Padma and her boyfriend Tim had gone to second base, while Daphne was seriously considering losing her virginity to her latest beau, Alec. Hannah had just ended her two-year relationship that never made it all-the-way. She now had her sights set on Neville.

And I had never been kissed.

Friday morning breakfast brought with it barely-open eyes and shared awkward looks with Draco. Before you ask, the only reason we were looking at each other was because we both knew we liked each other. I was basking in the cool grey-blue of his eyes… until a fuming Pansy invaded my line of sight.

"Time to go." I said quickly to Hermione, before vaulting up and legging it to the Great Hall entrance. When I reached the large Entrance Door, I used all my strength to heave it open. Then I felt my legs give out under the influence of a Jelly Legs Curse. Damn her.

I swivelled on my butt to face her rage-filled form. Each step she took, her face got redder and redder, her eyes widening.

"You BITCH!" She shouted at me. I was surprised her wand didn't snap from the hold her hand had on it.

"_You _were the one that decided to friggin' _curse_ him! If you ask me, _that _was a pretty BITCHY thing to do!" I threw back, struggling to maintain my control.

"He loves me, he just needed to be shown!"

"Honey," I said, "if he needs to be shown, he doesn't love you."

"You know what? You're just jealous. He was _my _boyfriend and you couldn't take that! So you _just had_ to tattle!" She finished with a mocking tone.

"Your own actions led you to this, Pansy. How could you be so stupid so as to not think that someone wouldn't notice?"

"I could be expelled." Her tone was slowly becoming… _defeated?_

"Good. You deserve it." I spat at her acidly, before pushing myself to my still-wobbly feet and storming down to the lake.

After killing a few trees, I was feeling much better. Pansy was just so pathetic, so desperate for love that I don't know how Daphne could stand it. I was happy that she finally came to her senses and stopped being friends with Pansy.

But I felt bad, still. God, even _I _was pathetic. She could be getting expelled for possessing my mate. But what did I know about her life? She might have been raised on abuse, or her parents might have hurriedly entered into a loveless marriage because of one careless night, or-

"Serena! What the fuck are you doing?"

I whipped around to see an enraged Draco glaring at my still-on-fire hands.

"Letting out my anger." I said bluntly.

"No, you're killing the forest."

"Well it was the trees or Pansy."

"Hey, I have no objections to you killing someone. Think of the poor trees."

Laughter bubbled through my lips at this, and it was like a huge weight had been lifted. The awkward-glance barrier with Draco had been demolished, and we were gradually feeling more comfortable with each other after the mate confession.

Suddenly, I didn't even care about Pansy and her imagined loveless childhood. Of course it was loveless, most pureblood Death Eater marriages were arranged.

Banishing all Death Eater thoughts from my mind, I took three steps towards Draco, grabbed both sides of his face, and brought my lips to his.

It took about a millisecond for him to respond. Sparks literally flew through me, and soon my hands were at the base of his neck and his were on my back.

His lips were soft, but their hold on mine was firm. His tongue darted out to touch my upper lip, and in return, I opened my mouth slightly. Our tongues wrestled before his overpowered mine and got to explore.

We pulled apart, gasping, and I smiled shyly at him.

"I've wanted to do that for such a long time," I breathed.

"Damn, how many guys have you kissed? That was freaking awesome!" He exclaimed, smiling.

"Way to ruin the moment! But since you asked, that was my first kiss."

"No shit?" His jaw dropped as I nodded.

"Wow," he grinned and put his forehead to mine. "I consider it an honour to be your first kiss."

I giggle. Wow, seriously? _Giggled_? What is wrong with me?

"Come on," he said, kissing my temple. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and together we walked back up to the castle.

I'd like to say that Draco and I spent the day wrapped up in each-other's arms making out, but given the house difference, we didn't.

Instead, Draco and his friends came and stole him away to the Slytherin common room and Hermione decided to _force _me to do the work that I hadn't done yet, which was very little.

So, once I had finished my homework – sorry, _dormwork_ – the girls bundled me up and dragged me to our room.

"How was it?" Ginny asked, grinning like a maniac.

"How was what?" I replied, playing dumb.

"Don't be stupid. How was snogging Draco?" Hannah put in.

"You saw that?" I grimaced.

"I think the whole school did." Daphne laughed.

"Well," I sighed. "Do I hav-"

"Yes!" They all shouted at me.

"Okay! It was… amazing."

"Aaaw!"

**A/N: Okay, I know I don't deserve them, but I'd like some reviews. Anyone have any idea where they want this to go, cause I don't. I really am sorry for the late updating though. I've just finished school for the year, so exams and stress were a given. This chapter was really hard to write cause I lost all my files. **

**I will only update if I know people are actually enjoying it, because funnily enough, I hate my writing style **


	11. Summoned

**Okay, so I don't think anyone likes me at the moment because it has been almost 4 freaking months, but I do apologise for not uploading. Anyway… Onward!**

**Chapter 11 – Summoned **

On Saturday morning, I woke up with butterflies using blenders in my tummy. When I dragged myself out of bed, I finally noticed the girls of my dorm, plus Ginny. They were all quite creepily situated in a circular shape around my bed, grinning widely.

Needless to say, I nearly screamed.

After my heart had managed to calm itself from trying to claw its way up my throat, I placed a hand on my sternum and closed my eyes.

"Don't you _ever _scare me like that again, you idiots!" I half shouted, before smiling and becoming completely calm again. "Am I safe to assume that you all want to take part in the pretty-up-Serena-for-her-date-with-Hotty-McHotpants process?" My guess was answered with enthusiastic nods. Yippee.

At twelve o'clock, on the dot, there was a knock on the dormitory door. Traditionally, well, in a normal house area, boys wouldn't have made it to being five feet away from the girls' doors, but given that there were several couples in this particular dorm, Professor McGonagall thought it was unfair of her to 'get in the way of young, reckless love'. P.S. Those were her words, not mine.

With a grin that could rival the Cheshire cat's, I pulled open the door and flung myself into the arms of the person on the other side. Draco laughed, and his warm hands made their way to sitting halfway down my back.

"Hello, lovely," he whispered in my ear, sending cool shivers down my spine.

"Thank goodness that was you. I would have been mortified if it were someone else," I gasped, a blush making its way onto my cheeks at the mere thought. Draco responded with another deep laugh, before interlacing my right-hand fingers with his left-hand ones.

Without a word between us, Draco and I managed to navigate to the thestral-drawn carriages, grinning like idiots. It was a sight to behold.

When we jolted to a halt in Hogsmeade, I squealed and quickly grasped Draco's hand, planning to drag him into the first shop I saw.

Holy crap, when did I become such a bimbo?

Deciding to tone it down a bit (I didn't want to scare him) I loosened my hold on his hand and matched my pace to his long strides. Chuckling to himself, he leaned down to my ear and said, "I can tell that you are very excited, Rena. Don't be ashamed of that. Go absolutely fucking wild." My heart jumped at the nickname, and then I quickly expressed my gratitude with a kiss on his cheek.

And then I went, and I quote: absolutely _fucking _wild.

Two hours later, I could tell that Draco was regretting his choice to let me run wild. In the last shop on the main street, a stationery shop, I paid for my new quills and rainbow ink while smiling gratefully at Draco for being so patient.

It was then that I felt it.

It started as a slight tingling just above my butt, before gradually moving up my spine. As it moved upwards, the tingling became sharper, almost a vibration. When the tingling got to the base of my skull, it split into two separate paths, one to each of my shoulder blades.

I knew this sensation – I was being summoned by a sister. And if I didn't make it to her location incredibly soon, the tingling would become an ache, then a sting, and then an almost unbearable burn. The idea of it was that there was nothing worth more than being with your sister in a time of need.

Believe me; it works… most of the time.

I felt so bad as I walked to the Black Lake. I had briefly explained to Draco what was going on, but hurriedly left before the pain in my back could get worse. As I skirted around one of the boulders that lay on the edge of the pebble beach, however, I felt much, much worse.

Lying at the feet of nine of my sisters was a cold, _dead_, body. We may be immortal age-wise, but it didn't stop some people from using iron – something that two of our four parts was 'allergic' to – against us. The pearl rule that was enacted on my father didn't, and would never, apply to us. I bit my lip, tears filling my eyes as I scanned Sabina's unmoving figure.

"Wh- how?" I choked out, one traitorous tear crawling down my face.

Lodema stepped forward.

"As far as we know, she came across a man she thought was friendly. He turned out to be not so friendly, and killed her when her back was turned," she said emotionlessly.

Lodema was the eldest of all of us, at around six hundred years old. She was raised by the last Serena, the one I replaced. It was how the tradition went: mothers die and fathers cast out their children. The youngest sister at the time (now _moi_) raises the child in the ways of the sisters until the child is old enough to join the sisterhood.

It started with twelve sisters, all born at the same time to the same parents (no idea how that happened). They were the first Elementi, each with their own unique qualities. They developed a language and the tattoos, and the curse that comes with them, before they eventually died off. They were replaced, but the cycles were uneven, thus resulting in a six hundred year old sister, and a sixteen year old sister.

Fights broke out over who would look after the next child, so the responsibility fell to the youngest. Most Elementi were sensitive about not being able to have children. I certainly was, especially now that I had Draco.

"Serena," Lodema said in her soothing voice, "we have located the child, and the mother is in labour. You need to collect the child before she is damaged by her father, and take her back to the castle with you."

"What about my classes, my schoolwork?" I asked, incredibly curious.

"You will need to take a week off, teach _Sabina _to self-soothe. Then you will have to take her to classes with you. Think of it as family bonding time with Draco. You may be able to adopt yet." Lodema replied, self-assured. She had witnessed this many times before, of course I trusted her.

"Where is the baby?" Lodema closed her eyes – as eldest, she had the power to locate anyone she needed, so long as she knew who they were precisely.

"In a cottage on the edge of the Caspian Sea," Lodema said, opening her unique purple eyes.

I nodded, and returned to the castle. I needed to borrow a broom.


	12. Sabina

**Chapter 12 – Sabina**

She was easily the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Cradled in Draco's arms, Sabina also looked like the tiniest thing I had ever seen. Seriously.

Her life story was the same as everyone else's, apart from mine. Her mother was a Siren-human cross that survived to see her daughter once. Just once. Her father was a very angry Faerie-Veela cross that tried to throw me out of his home. Luckily I was there to catch her when he decided to do the same to his daughter.

In some ways, I was lucky that my mother didn't die. She was there to teach me to walk by the side of Allaena, who was given the task of raising yours truly. She taught me to talk, even though it pained her to do so. I was the spitting image of my father, and by the time I was one and a half, Hettentia was pregnant with Laenie.

Such a pity that my parents were still meant to be in a love-filled marriage.

My mum lost it when Laenie was born on the night of their anniversary. I was two and a bit at the time, but well developed because of my blood. Dad, obviously, witnessed the birth, and mum went psycho.

Even _I _could see that she was dying from living underwater for too long.

My mother died on the night of her anniversary.

Sabina had a head covered in soft black hair, rosy cheeks and a button nose. Tiny, pink rosebud lips only formed a cry when she was hungry or in pain, and even that was rare.

The only hard part about taking care of Sabina was that I had to explain the situation to McGonagall.

_That _was an awkward conversation.

But she was incredibly understanding, shockingly enough, and she moved my bed into another room that was soundproof. Then she said that Draco could come and live with me.

No, just kidding. I wish.

So far, my sleeping pattern was almost uninterrupted, and Sabina didn't hog the blankets. That was probably because the room was always at a perfect temperature to suit the person within, though.

Every morning, I took Sabina down to the black lake to experiment with her tail. Within the first two weeks, baby Elementi grew their scale dress, their tattoos appeared and they started to be able to form their tail.

After four days, Sabina still hadn't gotten her tail, which was perfectly normal (so Lodema told me), but her tattoos were slowly darkening. Yay!

On Thursday, I decided that Sabina and I were going to eat breakfast with everyone else. I was going to have to face them sometime, and my week off was almost up. Evidently, the rumour mill was still in operation. Damn.

With Sabina over my shoulder, and a bottle of milk in my hand, I wandered into the Great Hall. I didn't think I'd ever heard anything get so quiet so quickly. Shrugging, but careful not to rouse the sleeping baby leaning on my collarbone, I wandered over to where my friends were sitting.

They were the only ones not gasping like fish out of water, opening and closing their mouths out of shock and popping their eyes so far out of their skulls that they were breaking records.

"It's a baby, well observed. Move on." I scowled at them, scanning the room with narrowed eyes.

I swung one leg over the bench before my second followed. Sitting Sabina on my upper thigh, I began to steal all kinds of tasty morsels from the feast in front of me. Sabina, despite being barely a week old, began to suck on the patch of smooth skin in between the lowest joint of my thumb and my wrist. I immediately knew she was yearning for the bottle that was now sitting next to me on the bench.

"What's the time?" I asked Hermione, who was sitting across from me. She checked her watch – which always, _always _kept perfect time, before replying.

"Seven minutes to eight."

"You know, 'five two' would have sufficed." She rolled her eyes before turning and starting a conversation with Ron.

At eight o'clock – I know because I checked with Hermione – Draco plopped down next to me. Lucky for him, Sabina had just started fussing for her bottle, so he diligently stole the bottle from its comfortable place next to me and heated it with a simple spell.

Then, with all the gentleness of a feather, he picked Sabina up from her place on my lap and began to feed her.

Without a doubt, I knew that if Draco and I ever had a child (which is impossible) he would spoil it absolutely rotten.

Breakfast was… _interesting_, to say the least. Soon after Draco fed Sabina, one particular cow – Pansy – decided to shout 'slut' at the top of her lungs. I decided to give her a good soak.

Chuckling, I made my way once again down to the Black Lake. In my mind, I envisioned all the possible rumours that could come from this change in events.

I had a premature child to Draco.

I had a child to someone else.

She was my sister.

She was some other relation.

I stole her.

She appeared on my doorstep, much like Harry Potter.

And the list goes on.

For the fifth or sixth time in five days, I skirted around the boulder to come face-to-face with Lodema.

"I see she's still alive, Rena. Good job," Allaena winked. The relationship I had with her was the best out of all the relationships I had with my sisters. She had seen me at my weakest and most vulnerable moments, but never tried to use it against me like Hettentia did.

"Har-di har har," I rolled my eyes at her, before turning my attention to Lodema again. "What's up?" I asked, popping the 'p'.

"We found the man that killed Sabina. He's a hunter."

Those three words were enough to make my heart stop.


	13. Hunted

**Chapter 13 – Hunted**

Hunters were bad. Very, very, very bad. So bad, in fact, that I nearly fainted.

The hunters were a group of about twelve (funny how that works out, huh?) individuals. These individuals prided themselves on perfection, and the protection of their race. They were a group of Faeries and a group of Veela mixed together. They were bossed around by a higher power called Sirens. Any guesses as to what's going on here?

The Fae, Veela and Sirens were incredibly prideful races. Proud of being purebred.

Proud of being powerful.

Proud of being praised by the human race.

I guess you could call all three races 'four-P-races': proud, praised, powerful purebreds. So, the purebreds decided that any diluting of the blood, even to create an even better race – namely me – was completely fucked up and should be destroyed. That is where the hunters came in.

Trained to kill, hunters were specifically bred individuals that grew up in elite camps. They were trained to hate us and to destroy us. Yay for them.

So to say that they were on the rise again was almost suicide. I was just a baby, but once upon a time there was a war. It was passive, no active fighting involved. It was merely just attempts of assassinations, which all failed. It had left all of my sisters, including Maellea, who was stupid enough to leave on her own, really _really _jumpy. And paranoid. Not an incredibly ideal combination for a life form that can control all the elements.

After my brief-but-life-changing meeting with my sisters, I wandered back up to the castle. The hallways were empty and silent, and class was in session.

_Huh_, I thought to myself, _that conversation must have taken longer than I thought. _

When I returned to the dormitory, I was shocked to find Draco nursing a split lip and a very sore-looking set of knuckles.

"Draco," I gasped, hand on my chest. "You scared the _crap _out of me!" He looked over, appearing as if he only just noticed me. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, "I'm fine, just a little bruised."

"Hang on a second." I put Sabina down in her crib in my room before returning to the common room. "Why are you bruised?" I asked, eyes narrowed.

"Theodore Nott was mouthing off about how you were a whore that couldn't keep a man and so you were trying to latch on to anything with two legs and a pair of testicles. I attacked him, he retaliated. I have to wait to be summoned to McGonagall's office, and I'm forbidden from going to Madam Pomfrey."

"Draco," I began, eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry that you got hurt, but that is, honestly, the nicest and sweetest thing that anyone has ever done for me." I flung my arms over his broad shoulders and kissed him full on the lips.

We had shared snogs before, but this was different. It was hotter, more passionate. After literally three minutes, I found myself underneath his strong body on my bed, with no thoughts apart from the fact that I was kissing Draco again.

"D-draco," I gasped out. "I-I think we should s-stop."

"Okay. We are moving a bit fast." He nodded before hoisting himself off of me. Ooh, biceps. No, Serena! Keep on track!

"N-no, you don't understand."

"Then what is it?"

"."

"Uh… what was that?" Draco asked, chuckling.

"The hunters are back and if I have… s-sex with you I give my immortality up, and given that they already managed to kill Sabina, I should be really worried about dying."

"Right, I'm going to assume that hunters are people trying to kill you," I nodded, "and you are a virgin." I hesitated before nodding again. "Okay. I think we should really think about–" Before Draco could finish his most-likely-enlightening sentence, three knocks sounded on the door of the dormitory.

"Go, we'll talk later," I told him before pecking him on the lips. He nodded, running a pale hand through his dishevelled hair, and then turned and walked out the door.

As soon as the door closed, the once-sleeping Sabina began to wail.

"You look like crap," Ginny told me as soon as I sat down.

"Gee thanks. Last night was the beginning of what I feel will be a long line of sleepless nights." I replied sleepily.

"Oh really?" Daphne chipped in, waggling her eyebrows.

"Not like that, you pervert! Sabina wouldn't go to sleep."

"Doesn't Draco normally calm her?" Hermione inquired, contributing to the conversation.

"I would have fetched him if I could only find him! Have any of you seen him?"

The three girls shared _looks _before Ginny spoke. "Rumour has it that he got suspended for starting the fight with Nott. Slughorn was furious because they destroyed some of his stock cupboards. Nott was suspended too, but he is apparently pleading innocent, claiming that Draco is, and I quote: 'a barmy bastard that sleeps with anything in a skirt and can't take a joke'."

"Jesus, Ginny. Where the hell do you get this information from?"

"Oh, I watched the whole thing from under Harry's invisibility cloak."

"Speaking of the child, where is she?" Daphne asked, her head cocked to the side.

"I have this new device that wraps around my wrist and vibrates whenever a noise is made. If it is seriously buzzing, I know she's screaming."

"Cool," Hermione nodded.

"Yeah," I replied absentmindedly. "Now I don't know what to do with myself, but after yesterday's turn of events, I didn't feel comfortable with bringing Sabina down."

"Makes sense."

"Could I have your attention, please?" McGonagall said from the front of the Hall. "First to sixth years, could you please leave the Hall swiftly and quietly and go to your first classes please."

Great numbers of students rose from their benches all around us, leaving great, gaping holes in between cliques of seventh years.

"Today, members that played a great role in the War have come to talk to you about any confusion that may have been caused by the conflict."

The great wooden doors opened to reveal a large group of people, mostly Weasleys (hee-hee). They moved as a group to the front of the Hall, Harry leading them.

"If everyone could move to a place where they can all see and hear clearly, that would be great." Harry said. The response was dozens of little squeaks as people butt-shuffled upwards on the benches.

"Professor McGonagall," I said, standing up. "May I be excused?"

"Fetch Sabina and then return. Be quick," McGonagall snapped. Touchy, touchy.

"Well, are there any questions?" Harry asked my classmates as I sped out of the Hall.


	14. Author Note

Hi everyone,

I understand that it has been two and a-bit-months since I uploaded. Therefore, I understand that most of you probably hate me. Even if you don't, read on.

I hate it when people make excuses, but this situation calls for it. In approximately four days, I will be on a plane to Europe. I'm allowed to be excited.

In short, I apologise for not uploading, even though I think that three consecutive uploads in two days is pretty freaking awesome. So hang in there, review, give me some ideas etc. Please. I've just realised it's probably pointless writing this because no one ever reads them. Oh well.

waterballoons155


	15. UP FOR ADOPTION

I know I haven't updated since April. I know I suck and you all hate me, but lots of things have happened. I went to France (very hard, I know) and my mum had a baby and lots of other fun things happened.

I don't enjoy writing this story anymore. I think my writing style is lame, and I can't be bothered to go through and fix that long list of things that are wrong with it. So, as of today, this story is UP FOR ADOPTION, so to speak. I will hand over the full rights to this story to a person that wants to take over. Then I'll remove it from my account.

Anyway, it will only stay on here for another three months, and then I'll take it down if no one wants it.

waterballoons155 xxx


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